NameCensus.

UK surname

Robinson

Derived from the given name Robin, which comes from the bird, and the patronymic suffix -son, meaning "son of Robin."

In the 1881 census there were 95,300 people recorded with the Robinson surname, ranking it #16 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 129,019, ranked #14, up from #16 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Gateshead and Leeds. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include County Durham, Hartlepool and Leeds.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Robinson is 133,784 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 35.4%.

1881 census count

95,300

Ranked #16

Modern count

129,019

2016, ranked #14

Peak year

2010

133,784 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Robinson had 95,300 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #16 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 129,019 in 2016, ranked #14.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 128,002 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Robinson surname distribution map

The map shows where the Robinson surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Robinson surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Robinson over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 62,102 #17
1861 historical 69,748 #14
1881 historical 95,300 #16
1891 historical 105,890 #14
1901 historical 118,493 #14
1911 historical 128,002 #12
1997 modern 128,147 #14
1998 modern 132,450 #14
1999 modern 133,455 #14
2000 modern 132,481 #14
2001 modern 129,203 #14
2002 modern 131,768 #14
2003 modern 128,352 #14
2004 modern 128,079 #14
2005 modern 126,169 #14
2006 modern 126,237 #14
2007 modern 127,014 #14
2008 modern 127,832 #14
2009 modern 130,844 #14
2010 modern 133,784 #14
2011 modern 131,651 #14
2012 modern 128,567 #14
2013 modern 130,742 #14
2014 modern 131,571 #14
2015 modern 130,098 #14
2016 modern 129,019 #14

Geography

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Where Robinsons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Gateshead, Leeds and Manchester. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to County Durham, Hartlepool, Leeds and Hambleton. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 1
2 London parishes London 3
3 Gateshead Durham
4 Leeds Yorkshire, West Riding
5 Manchester Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 County Durham 032 County Durham
2 County Durham 052 County Durham
3 Hartlepool 002 Hartlepool
4 Leeds 110 Leeds
5 Hambleton 004 Hambleton

Forenames

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First names often paired with Robinson

These lists show first names that appear often with the Robinson surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Robinson

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Robinson, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Robinson surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Robinson household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Robinson is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Robinson is most concentrated in decile 8 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Robinson falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Robinson is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Robinson, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Robinson

The surname Robinson is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is a patronymic name derived from the personal name "Robin" or "Robert", with the addition of the suffix "-son", meaning "son of". The name "Robin" itself was a diminutive form of the Germanic name "Robrecht", which was composed of the elements "hrōd" (meaning "fame" or "renown") and "berht" (meaning "bright" or "famous").

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was recorded in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where a Thomas Robynessone was mentioned in Oxfordshire. The Domesday Book of 1086 does not contain any direct references to the surname Robinson, but it does mention individuals with the personal name "Robert" or its variants.

The name Robinson was particularly prevalent in the northern counties of England, such as Yorkshire and Lancashire. It may have originated from place names like Robingate in Yorkshire or Roby in Lancashire, though the connection is not certain.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the surname Robinson began appearing more frequently in various records and documents. Some notable individuals bearing this name include:

1. John Robinson (c. 1576–1625), an English Puritan minister and a leader of the Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower to establish the Plymouth Colony in 1620.

2. Robert Robinson (1735–1790), an English Baptist minister and hymn writer, best known for composing the hymn "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing".

3. Mary Robinson (1758–1800), an English actress, poet, and writer, known for her semi-autobiographical work "Memoirs of the Late Mrs. Robinson".

4. Edward G. Robinson (1893–1973), an American actor who played tough-guy roles in films like "Little Caesar" and "Key Largo".

5. Jackie Robinson (1919–1972), an American baseball player who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

As the surname Robinson spread across the English-speaking world, it became one of the most common surnames in countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, among others.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Robinson families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Robinson surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Yorkshire leads with 20,011 Robinsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.17x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 20,011 2.17x
Lancashire 16,378 1.48x
Durham 7,742 2.79x
Middlesex 6,978 0.75x
Lincolnshire 3,965 2.66x
Surrey 3,363 0.74x
Staffordshire 3,186 1.01x
Cheshire 3,165 1.54x
Northumberland 2,766 2.00x
Cumberland 2,465 3.07x
Derbyshire 2,117 1.45x
Warwickshire 1,968 0.84x
Kent 1,798 0.57x
Nottinghamshire 1,738 1.38x
Northamptonshire 1,682 1.92x
Essex 1,184 0.64x
Westmorland 1,166 5.70x
Worcestershire 1,131 0.93x
Leicestershire 1,082 1.05x
Sussex 992 0.63x
Hampshire 933 0.49x
Bedfordshire 857 1.78x
Suffolk 834 0.74x
Gloucestershire 721 0.39x
Lanarkshire 653 0.22x
Norfolk 586 0.41x
Hertfordshire 582 0.91x
Shropshire 553 0.69x
Cambridgeshire 528 0.89x
Oxfordshire 462 0.80x
Buckinghamshire 456 0.81x
Berkshire 328 0.47x
Devon 298 0.15x
Glamorgan 271 0.17x
Wiltshire 243 0.30x
Somerset 223 0.15x
Huntingdonshire 212 1.15x
Midlothian 191 0.15x
Monmouthshire 146 0.22x
Renfrewshire 133 0.18x
Herefordshire 132 0.35x
Channel Islands 109 0.39x
Dorset 99 0.16x
Denbighshire 94 0.27x
Caernarfonshire 81 0.22x
Ayrshire 78 0.11x
Royal Navy 78 0.70x
Cornwall 70 0.07x
Isle of Man 65 0.38x
Flintshire 64 0.26x
Pembrokeshire 61 0.21x
Rutland 57 0.83x
Dumfriesshire 55 0.27x
Montgomeryshire 52 0.24x
Anglesey 32 0.19x
Angus 29 0.03x
Carmarthenshire 24 0.06x
Roxburghshire 24 0.14x
Kirkcudbrightshire 19 0.14x
Aberdeenshire 17 0.02x
Argyllshire 15 0.06x
Banffshire 15 0.08x
Brecknockshire 15 0.08x
Dunbartonshire 15 0.06x
Radnorshire 15 0.20x
Stirlingshire 14 0.04x
Merionethshire 11 0.06x
Perthshire 11 0.03x
Fife 9 0.02x
Cardiganshire 7 0.03x
Wigtownshire 7 0.06x
Sutherland 4 0.06x
Clackmannanshire 3 0.04x
Inverness-shire 3 0.01x
Ross-shire 3 0.01x
Buteshire 2 0.04x
Morayshire 2 0.01x
Peeblesshire 2 0.05x
West Lothian 2 0.01x
East Lothian 1 0.01x
Kincardineshire 1 0.01x
Nairnshire 1 0.04x
Selkirkshire 1 0.01x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Leeds in Yorkshire leads with 1,008 Robinsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.93x.

Place Total Index
Leeds 1,008 1.93x
Islington London 809 0.90x
Birmingham 700 0.89x
Liverpool 680 1.01x
Lambeth 654 0.81x
Preston 646 2.18x
St Pancras London 620 0.83x
Oldham 608 1.70x
Holy Trinity 594 2.68x
Toxteth Park 594 1.59x
Aston 590 0.91x
Manchester 585 1.18x
Blackburn 533 1.81x
Middlesbrough 508 4.23x
Bishopwearmouth 507 2.13x
Salford 500 1.54x
Darlington 442 4.13x
Hackney London 433 0.83x
West Derby 432 1.34x
Sheffield 424 1.44x
Ashton Under Lyne 410 1.70x
Sculcoates 410 2.80x
Gateshead 404 1.95x
Thornton In Bradford 398 12.95x
Bradford 392 1.75x
Nottingham St Mary 388 1.19x
Everton 384 1.09x
Horton In Bradford 380 2.64x
Camberwell 364 0.61x
Barrow In Furness 354 2.35x
Kensington London 354 0.68x
St Marylebone London 340 0.68x
Stockton On Tees 340 2.55x
Dudley 326 2.20x
Hulme 310 1.34x
Shoreditch London 310 0.77x
West Ham 308 0.76x
Brightside Bierlow 303 1.67x
Bethnal Green London 297 0.73x
Great Grimsby 295 3.12x
Newington 292 0.85x
Hunslet 290 2.01x
Leicester St Margaret 287 1.14x
Glossop Dale 276 4.04x
Portsea 276 0.74x
Battersea 275 0.80x
Chelsea London 269 0.96x
Newton 264 3.10x
Wolverhampton 255 1.05x
Kirkdale 253 1.36x
Stoke Upon Trent 253 0.76x
Clitheroe 241 7.41x
Ecclesall Bierlow 241 1.28x
Chorlton On Medlock 240 1.37x
Paddington London 239 0.70x
Manningham 237 2.08x
Mile End Old Town 235 1.60x
Stranton 235 2.52x
Halifax 231 1.70x
Bowling 225 2.46x
Croydon 221 0.88x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 219 1.82x
Keighley 218 2.22x
Huddersfield 217 1.61x
Elswick 215 1.94x
Scarborough 213 2.54x
Brighton 208 0.66x
West Bromwich 208 1.16x
Westoe 199 1.27x
Kendal 197 5.26x
North Meols 196 1.81x
Dewsbury 195 2.06x
Linthorpe 194 3.52x
Stanhope 193 6.75x
Stretford 192 3.16x
Barnsley 191 2.01x
Burnley 190 2.04x
Heworth 187 3.42x
Bromley London 186 0.91x
Govan 184 0.25x
Barony 181 0.24x
Habergham Eaves 181 1.79x
Stockport 179 1.69x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Robinson surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 6,861
Elizabeth 3,924
Sarah 3,619
Jane 2,259
Ann 2,053
Margaret 1,470
Annie 1,456
Hannah 1,376
Alice 1,343
Ellen 1,275
Emma 1,143
Eliza 1,142
Martha 873
Emily 865
Isabella 558
Ada 541
Harriet 534
Edith 514
Maria 512
Catherine 451
Louisa 450
Fanny 441
Charlotte 417
Florence 416
Frances 395
Caroline 362
Agnes 361
Clara 361
Anne 357
Lucy 355
Kate 334
Esther 247
Rebecca 224
Susan 217
Eleanor 209
Amelia 206
Harriett 196
Susannah 196
Amy 182
Elizth. 179
Rose 174
Matilda 171
Ethel 155
Betsy 153
Gertrude 150
Ruth 150
Sophia 147
Grace 140
Lydia 139
Minnie 139

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Robinson surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 6,231
William 5,873
Thomas 3,455
George 3,332
James 2,939
Joseph 2,128
Henry 1,636
Charles 1,525
Robert 1,356
Edward 895
Arthur 860
Richard 849
Samuel 776
Alfred 758
Frederick 667
Walter 572
Albert 487
Harry 426
Herbert 389
Wm. 346
Frank 342
Francis 293
Benjamin 292
Ernest 290
David 280
Fred 258
Edwin 249
Thos. 249
Isaac 209
Tom 194
Peter 173
Matthew 160
Stephen 155
Christopher 150
Geo. 148
Ralph 143
Daniel 142
Mark 121
Andrew 105
Jonathan 96
Fredrick 93
Alexander 90
Chas. 84
Edmund 83
Michael 83
Jno. 81
Joshua 77
Percy 75
Hugh 72
Willie 72

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Robinson households.

FAQ

Robinson surname: questions and answers

How common was the Robinson surname in 1881?

In 1881, 95,300 people were recorded with the Robinson surname. That placed it at #16 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Robinson surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 129,019 in 2016. That gives Robinson a modern rank of #14.

What does the Robinson surname mean?

Derived from the given name Robin, which comes from the bird, and the patronymic suffix -son, meaning "son of Robin."

What does the Robinson map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Robinson bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.